SUPPORT FOR AND EXPANSION OF GEAR UP AND OTHER COMMUNITY BASED COLLEGE ACCESS PROGRAMS

WHEREAS, most low-income students and families are unaware of the courses required to apply
to and attend college, the costs of postsecondary education and the availability of financial aid to
attend college; and

WHEREAS, minority and low-income families that have not attended college receive sticker
shock when their high school senior child begins to apply to college; and

WHEREAS, research has shown that low-income and minority students who take certain
academic courses, such as algebra and geometry, by the end of ninth grade, are more likely to
complete high school and go onto college; and

WHEREAS, this nation's low-income and minority population continues to grow rapidly, and
most racial and ethnic minority groups are far from being proportionally represented on most
college campuses; and

WHEREAS, the United States has a knowledge-based economy and the baccalaureate degree has
become the equivalent of a high school diploma in the 1950's and 60's; and

WHEREAS, the economic vitality of America's cities is based on their ability to attract business,
offer good paying jobs and provide an attractive workforce for business which cannot be
accomplished without a quality education system that serves all of its students and citizens; and

WHEREAS, reducing and potentially ending unequal access to higher education is important for
the future health, prosperity and economic viability of our cities and our nation; and

WHEREAS, Alan Greenspan has stated that it is important "to find ways to prepare more racially
and culturally diverse pool of young people who will be flowing into jobs and starting businesses in
the 21st century;" and

WHEREAS, 77 percent of Americans polled support an increase in education spending to assist
students in becoming better prepared and completing college; and

WHEREAS, after two years of the GEAR UP Program (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness
for Undergraduate Programs), a U.S. Department of Education discretionary grant program, the
number of participating students who had decided to go to college went from 12 percent to 84
percent which means college got on their radar screen; and

WHEREAS, providing information beginning as early as seventh grade to students and their
families about what course work in middle and high school needs to be taken in order to be
accepted to college, the costs of attending these institutions, and the financial aid available to assist
in paying for college is critical to expanding opportunities for low-income and minority students as
well as securing a well trained and college educated workforce for America's cities,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors encourages
mayors across the country to create and support community-based college access programs that
provide new information and opportunities for low-income and minority students and their
families; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The United States Conference of Mayors calls on The
United States Congress to continue support of and expand funding for GEAR UP and similar
programs such as TRIO(Student Support Services, Upward Bound, Talent Search, and
Educational Opportunity Centers) which provide important information about required course
work and student financial aid for college, facilitate access to college, and support services during
college for low-income and minority students.